Information Governance

The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA) is charged with administering the Statewide Records and Information Management Program for all public agencies in accordance with generally accepted record-keeping principles and industry standards and best practices. This charge includes developing, issuing, and maintaining statewide records and information management standards and information governance frameworks (3 V.S.A. § 117).

The Statewide Records and Information Management Program incorporates and applies to public records the following industry standards and best practices at a statewide level, in addition to other standards that are more narrowly defined:

International Standards Organization (ISO). ISO 15489 (Records Management). ISO 15489 applies to the creation, capture and management of records regardless of structure or form, in all types of business and technological environments, over time. The first edition was published in 2001 and Part 1 (Concepts and Principles) was updated in 2016. Part 2 (Guidelines for Implementation) was withdrawn and is being replaced by two new standards: Standard on Appraisal for Managing Records and Standard on Systems Design for Records.

International Standards Organization (ISO). ISO 23081 (Metadata for Records). ISO 23081 applies to designing technical specifications for managing records in specific technological applications and for supporting assertions of authenticity and reliability at a point in time in all business and records environments. The first edition was published in 2006 and Part 1 (Records Management Processes: Metadata for Records) was updated in 2017. Part 2 (Conceptual and Implementation Issues) was published in 2009 and Part 3 (Self Assessment Checklist) was published in 2011. Parts 2 and 3 remain as first edition publications.

ARMA International. Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles® The Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles® (Principles) constitute a generally accepted global standard for a comprehensive approach to managing and governing records and information. First published in 2009, the Principles were updated in 2017 and outline critical hallmarks of a sound records and information management program while also providing a high level framework for implementing a standard of conduct for governing information and evaluating such conduct.

ARMA International. Information Governance Maturity Model. The Information Governance Maturity Model (Maturity Model) is based on the Principles, as well as the extant standards, best practices, and legal/regulatory requirements that surround information governance and describes for each Principle the characteristics of effective information governance at five distinct levels of development. The Maturity Model was first published in 2010 and has since been also adopted by the legal and information technology communities of practice. In August 2017, Implementing the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (ARMA International TR 30-2017) was published as quality improvement tool for an organization’s information governance practices.